The Politics Of The Apocalypse

A heckler called President Obama the Antichrist this week, and Republican Rick Perry recently debuted a campaign ad that is apocalyptic in tone. What does that say about American politics these days?

Matthew Sutton, associate professor of history at Washington State University argues in a much talked-about New York Times opinion piece that Christian apocalypticism as we know it has shaped conservative political thinking since the Great Depression.

Sutton says it has also influenced the anti-government views of today’s evangelicals who make up one of the largest interest groups in the Republican party.